Why nike has become such a leading sports transnational corporation.
Why has Nike become such a major sports product supplier in the world today?
Nike was first a Greek goddess of victory, who was in a family of other personifications such as war, strength, force and rivalry. If people were asked about Nike, the Greek mythology is highly unlikely to arise. Nike is now known as the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes, apparel and sports equipment. It was valued in 2006 as a business worth $10,897,000,000, over twice the value of its closest competitor, Adidas. This is highly impressive for a company that started in 1964 as a mere sports shoe outlet. Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight created Nike under a partnership of coach to athlete. They wanted to bring low priced, high technology shoes from Japan to dislodge German domination of the US athletic footwear industry.
Nike may owe some of its success to a highly recognisable brand logo, which is known as the ‘Swoosh’. This logo was not a highly drawn out search with millions spent on graphic designers, it was a simple stroke of luck by company founder, Phil Knight. In 1971, he supplemented his income from the company that turned into Nike by teaching an accounting class at Portland State University. Carolyn Davidson, a mere student of graphic design, was in the hallway when Knight became intrigued and offered a small amount of money in return for some quick design work for his company, as he had representatives from Japan to impress. Originally, he didn’t like any of the submissions, but took the work on the event that he had deadlines to work around. He told her "I don't love it, but it will grow on me”, and then paid her $35 for her work. However, when Nike grew, Davidson received a gift from Knight, a catered lunch where she was presented with a gold Swoosh ring embedded with a diamond, and an envelope containing an unreleased amount of Nike stock, which considering the worth of Nike today, would have definitely been a satisfying gift.